The Beast awkwardly was speechless, trying to wave back at her, and Perla smiled a bit, and the Beast felt a bit confident through he is trying to make sense why Perla would do that, having a stuffy nose, thanks to sleeping in the tower last night for his regretting actions, and he shook his head, heading out beyond the gardens to the far lands around the chasm's lake, to hunt as the portions of the red meat was running out for this month.
Not knowing how to plant fields or such, he figured being a beast with his weapons would be easy to take down prey, and now with a whole group of humans, he'd have to amount to more hunting every two weeks if that, as before now, he used to hunt only once every month.
To him, it was either hunt more or just let them all go, and then who knows what would come next there; especially considering the village that he still remembered was around, surely; though never in all these years had they come by to check up on the place. The Beast took a deep breath as he started to head out, his senses all clouded thanks to his nose, but he felt confident he would be fine in finding whatever animal was around.
Perla watched him, and then went to focus on her book, snuggling under a blanket on the window nook, lasting for an hour before she heard an ear-splitting roar of pain, and she snapped over to look at the window, recognizing that it must be Beast, and there, in the distance, she saw a dark brown speck losing balance near the lake of the chasm.
She got up quickly, and grabbed her fur-lined coat, running as the servants and the rest of the family heard it, and she shouted, "Ray, Jiminy, get yourself in coats now!", as the castle was in confusion and noises.
She ran to the stables, and grabbed the reins, hanging over Major, "I know this is not normal, but we gotta go, boy!", as she jumped into his back bareback, and urged him onwards, heading beyond the garden fences with a jump, and ran around the lake to the fallen Beast.
As Perla got closer, she gasped, seeing blood leaking from a deep cut, as she urged Major closer, and then jumped off, running to Beast, "Beast, wake up!", noticing a dead boar by his legs, realizing that he had wrestled the wild boar, and something went wrong.
"Shit...", Perla cursed as she tried to move Beast a bit. "Come on, please wake up... we got to get you back inside where it's warm!". She really had no idea how on Earth she was going to get him back in the castle, especially considering his weight.
Beast moaned, blurrily opening his eyes to see Perla as she went to press the wound with a rag, and he whimpered, "P-Perla...", as it hurts to see, to think, to even move, and Perla checked his forehead, "Gods, you're burning up! Was that boar rabid?!".
"N-no...please be quiet...it hurts...", Beast moaned in pain, looking like he has a headache, and Perla frowned, "I'm sorry...I'll be quiet...But I'm here, I'm right here, Beast. Can you get up?", and Beast tried to climb into his legs, but he yelped out in pain, nearly falling again, "P-Perla...".
Perla went to stand beside him, "Hold on, Beast...", as a baying call came, and she looked up to see Jiminy and Ray driving one of the carts, with Arnaldo, "Guys, help me! He's injured!", worried that that the wound would fester, as the boar got him into the chest, not as deep as a knife, but still bad.
"What happened?", Ray asked as Perla sighed, "Looks like he fought a boar, and it did more damage than he expected. Come on, we need to get him back to the castle; he needs to be out of the elements or he's going to get worse.".
Ray nodded, going to help with the other side of Beast, while Jiminy went to saddle Major, hitching him next to Arnaldo, which is a tight fit for both of them, but manageable.
Beast moaned, his brain fuzzy as he tried to walk on, leaning unintentionally against both humans, as Perla and Ray determinedly carried him, with Ray commenting, "Sheesh, he weighs more than two barrels!", as they got to the back of the cart.
Perla replied, "Beast, can you sit and lay back?", and Beast shuffled weakly, trying to listen to her, and his weight almost was felt by the equines, snorting and huffing, and Perla joined him by his side, ripping his shirt, as Ray went to join Jiminy in steering the equines back.
"Jesus Christ, hold on, Beast.", Perla fretted worriedly as she grabbed a bottle of alcohol with a clean rag, relieved that the staff hasn't fully unpacked the cart as there were still a few things around, probably done with the other cart all day.
Beast roared out in pain, having a slice of clearness among the dilated eyes and fuzzy mind, "Damn it, that hurts!", snarling at Perla, and Perla snapped back at him, "I know what I'm doing!".
He shut up as she sighed. "Please, just trust me... I think I know enough to at least help with wounds and such... now stay quiet and just let me work.", she told him as he grumbled while still trying to stay awake. The group soon made it back to the castle as she put alcohol to one of his wounds. "Now then... think you can walk to the fireplace, or do we still need to carry you?".
Beast growled lowly, "I can do it.", as he shuffled off the cart, starting to walk roughly, but his cold, his headache, his fever got him unbalanced, and he fell again, roaring in pain as his chest touched the floor, and Perla glared at him, "Stubborn than a bull, you are! That's it, no more walking on your own!", as she and Ray helped him up, and he snapped, "I'm not helpless!".
Perla scowled, "Like not telling the servants that you're sick?!". Beast went silent again, and Perla huffed as Jiminy went to get the equines settled in the stables again, while the family and servants opened the doors, "Master! Thank God! That looks nasty!".
"Give him some room, we'll get him somewhere comfortable, and I can help patch him up.", Perla said as there was a bunch of nods. "Come on, let's get him to the fireplace. Keeping him warm will help.".
The servants went to the kitchens and the rest of the castle to grab hot water, bandages, herbal tea, and other things like needles and stitching string, while the family went to gather pillows and blankets, putting a few extra logs into the large fireplace.
Meanwhile, they finally got the Beast to the fireplace as Perla sighed. "You really shouldn't have done anything with that cold of yours... clearly why that boar was able to get the better of you.", she lectured him as she continued to clean his wounds.
Beast growled, "I never had trouble before, and I had that boar on his hooves! He just got lucky before I snapped his neck.", and Perla glared at him, "No, he didn't get lucky! If he had gored into you in a different place, you wouldn't have been here, you stubborn beast!".
He growled at Perla before she held up her hand. "Do you want me to slap you again?", she asked as the Beast snorted and let her get back to work. "Just trust me, I'll get you better, okay? You've got to trust me on this... I helped saved my mother from being poisoned some weeks ago.".
The Beast blinked in surprise, and then exhaled, growling lowly every time hot water or alcohol cleaned his wounds, flushing the clotted blood out, the pain somehow keeping him awake, along with the remaining adrenaline from earlier, despite having the fuzziness in his head, the headache edging at his sides of his head.
He then widened his eyes when he saw the needle and string being sterilized in another hot water bowl, and he snarled at her, "Don't even think about it! I'm fine without stitches! I can heal without them!".
Perla snapped back at him, "Your wounds are bigger than they look, and they need to be stitched to heal, and don't dare stop me!", as the family and the servants can feel the intense fury and sexual tension in the air, and Juliet murmured to the children, having a feeling that they will swear sooner or later, "Come, children, let's go to the library. We can read stories to you, does that sound good, guys?", looking at the others.
They nodded, following Juliet and leading the children with them, and the servants stayed a bit longer, but flinched as Perla picked up the now sterilized needle and string for the first wound, with Beast squirming away, "No way!", and Perla angrily shouted, "Now you're making it worse! Somebody hold him!".
A coat stand heard the doctor tone in Perla's voice, and held Beast down as he squirmed, "No, no, let me go!", before roaring loudly that shook the room as Perla started the first stitch, and the servants fled, as Beast roared into Perla's face, "You're fucking killing me!", blowing her hair away.
She just couldn't help it as she slapped him in the face once more. This actually completely stunned the Beast as she looked at him with such fire and passion in her eyes, "I didn't want to do that, but unless you want to die, you'll suck it up and take the stiches like a man, got it?!". No angry look came to his face after what she said, one of more pain and trying to control himself as she took a deep breath and started.
"Ugh!", Beast grunted as she took a deep breath, "Would you like to bite down on some wood? Keep you from moving so much?".
Beast sighed deeply, "Yes, please...", and Perla nodded at the coat stand, "Let him go, and grab a thick wood from the pile.", and the coat stand let him go, and walked to the pile of the wood stand, grabbing a thick yet slim log, and walked back, handing it to Beast as it bowed, and looked at Perla, "I got everything in hand, go.".
The enchanted object bowed before her and left the room as the door opened and closed, and with a low growl, Beast went to put the log into his jaws, and Perla resumed her stitching, as he grunted and snarled at every stab of pain, almost splintering the wood.
As Perla finished the first wound, she used the scissors to clip the section of fur, and ends of the string, "There. First one done.", before glancing at Beast, "That doesn't look pleasant. Do you already have splinters in your teeth and mouth? If you do, take it out. Unless you want me to stitch into your mouth too.".
Beast growled. "You were the one who suggested it in the first place.", he told her as she nodded. "Yes.. but I didn't actually think you'd practically be biting it apart.", she said.
Beast snorted as he took the splintered log out of his jaws, and Perla went to sterilize the needle and new string again for the second wound, and she glanced with a sigh, "You're lucky that the first two didn't pierce your lungs...You realize that wild boars have four tusks?".
"Yeah... I noticed...", Beast grumbled as she started to get to work again. This time was a bit easier as he was better prepared for it.
"And did you not think to try something else or do things safer with your cold? Obviously whatever senses you've relied on all this time were dulled thanks to your illness.", Perla replied.
Beast replied roughly, "I depended on myself, since I'm the only one who's eating...And besides, the servants were able to make do with plowing fields and such, and of course, the greenhouses were plenty as well, but red meat, well, what else can I do? My paws are too big to set traps and the guns...should I say more?".
Perla raised an eyebrow, "Well, you better learn how to share since the men in my family can forage and hunt, and maybe to pay for being prisoners, you can let the men hunt with you...After all, being responsible for human lives is different than the servants...".
Beast growled, "I hunt alone!", and Perla glared at him, "And look at what just happened! Why the hell did you go out, being sick like that?!".
"Because I'm stronger than any man, I can handle it! And this was your fault in the first place!", Beast snapped back at her, snarling, and Perla glared, "I didn't see you all day, and the only time I saw you was when you left to hunt! Why is it my fault?!".
Beast roared at her, "I fucking stayed outside because I had wet dreams of you all night, keeping me awake! I had to stop myself before heading back into the castle and track you down! Damn it...", as he froze, barely realizing what he said, and growled lowly, "Go ahead, slap me again...I'm a disgusting monster...I don't deserve to be stitched up and treated like an overly large human...".
Perla sighed... after blushing for quite a number of moments when he straight up admitted the whole wet dream part. She didn't know whether to be flattered or embarrassed with that one, "Okay... first, let me apologize for myself about partially being responsible for your sleepless night. And no, I'm not going to slap you again...".
"Second, I'm still going to stitch you up, because you deserve to be healed. So, you returned to the castle sometime after dawn so not to worry the servants, but you stayed inside...And you let the cold fester up, even with the food the servants gave you...Did you get any rest then, or not?", Perla gently asked.
"No...", Beast grumbled. "Not really...", with a huff. "Add another reason why that boar got you.", Perla said as she finished up another stitch. "Okay.. a few more to go, but you're doing well now that you've calmed down.".
Beast sighed deeply, "This is not normal for me, you know...You're lucky that my senses are dulled right now...If it wasn't for those damn wounds, my primal instincts would be screaming at me...and you would be fighting...again...not that I don't blame you...You...you're not like other women...You're blunt...No one ever had done that before...".
Perla replied, "Let's say that I met monsters worser than you could ever be...They predated on young boys and young women, and even one who predated on my mother aka my mother-in-law's husband. I was very involved, but not quite closely for the first three monstrous men, but enough to put them to execution and such, and then of course, my mother got poisoned by a cruel and power-hungry woman who wanted to marry my new father-in-law, and she was put to execution as well.".
"Holy shit...", Beast whispered in horror, and Perla nodded, "That's one word to describe it...So, you're not a disgusting monster or anything to...to have wet dreams about me...After all, you're a male, and all men can all have that, more or less, through puberty and all...It's kind of flattering, really. Of course, not all men could admit it.", with a blush as she cut the second section of fur away from the second stitched wound.
"Yeah...", Beast sighed. "Puberty... I can't really imagine how it is for all men now... I went through it all like this.", he told her as she nodded. Part of her wondered if maybe now would be a good time to tell him the truth about her; that she once was a wooden puppet boy who also had been cursed. It might help with trust, perhaps... if the Beast knew he was in a similar situation.
Then again, he's ill, wounded, and he can't be overwhelmed, especially when he practically had no rest...No, better to wait until he's lucid and aware of his surroundings...After all, needing rest is far better than having a mind of whirling thoughts of something far bigger than he had ever imagined, to keep him all night again, or at least a few days.
Perla exhaled as she went to sterilize the needle again, grabbing new string, sterilizing it as well, and went to snip the fur sections of the other wounds away as Beast asked, "Why are you stripping some of the fur away?".
"Because the fur can trap the stitches into too much heat, and the stitches can expand, so it's wiser to let them breathe in the air, so they can work and fix the skin faster, closing the wounds, and of course, they will end up as scars eventually.", Perla replied, and Beast breathed softly, "I suppose that makes sense, and after the stitches are removed, the fur can grow back...how long do you think?".
"I'd have to check them every few days for a couple of weeks, and if there's no trouble then, you're able to hunt again.", Perla said, and Beast sighed, "I suppose I can give your men of the family a test run, but they better not mess up...", with a chuff.
Perla gave a smile, "Thank you, Beast.", before she then finished cutting the fur away, and then picked up the needle and new string again, and blushed softly, "Can I move closer? It was lucky that I got the fur cut without hurting you, but I need leverage easier to stitch those last two wounds...You really have a large, barreled chest...".